University of Delaware Athletics Taking Part in Colonial Athletic Association Food Drive Challenge March 1-7

NEWARK, Del. -- University of Delaware student-athletes are reaching out to the community and asking fans for their support during the second annual Colonial Athletic Association Food Drive Challenge.

Food drives will be taking place on all nine CAA campuses during the months of February and March will be collecting canned goods at Delaware lacrosse games the first week of Mwith Delaware hosting its drive next week, March 1-7, at three men’s and women’s lacrosse home games at Delaware Stadium. The event is being coordinated by the UD Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) with all food collected benefitting the Food Bank of Delaware.

Fans can participate by bringing non-perishable food items to CAA Food Drive collections during pre-game of the Delaware men’s lacrosse games vs. Villanova on March 1 at 1 p.m and vs. Lafayette on March 4 at 4 p.m. and at the Blue Hen women’s lacrosse game vs. La Salle on March 5 at 6 p.m.

In addition to accepting on-site donations, fans can also donate online at www.YouGiveGoods.com by selecting specific items that they would like to give.

A winner will be determined based on the number of pounds of non-perishable food collected by each institution. Monetary donations will be accepted and converted into pounds of food at a consistent rate as well. The CAA will announce the winner in March and CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager will present the winning institution with a trophy during a future on-campus event.

"As student-athletes at UD, we are really excited to be helping the Delaware community, while at the same time competing against our fellow CAA athletes,” said UD rower and SAAC member Lily Guttentag. “Anything that can be donated helps incredibly and can make a difference to a family in our community.”

"This is a really great opportunity for all the student-athletes in the CAA to get involved,” said UD rower and SAAC member Annie Waskover. “Just one canned food item can make a huge difference in a person’s life in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.”

"I couldn't be happier to be a student-athlete at a University that really makes an effort to help the community,” said UD men’s golfer and SAAC member Niño Rosal. “We are expecting great success and we thank everyone for their help.”

Last year’s CAA Food Drive Challenge resulted in 9,570 pounds of donated food along with nearly $2,700 in cash to local food banks.

The University of Delaware hopes to continue its great success in CAA-sponsored drives that benefit the community. This past fall, the University of Delaware captured the CAA Blood Challenge for the third straight year and for the seventh time in the 12-year history of the event. A total of 1,173 donors -- nearly 50 percent of the overall number of donors in the CAA drive - took part during the one-day event on the UD campus.